This volume contains the complete proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute on various aspects of the reliability of electronic and other systems. The aim of the Insti~ute was to bring together specialists in this subject. An important outcome of this Conference, as many of the delegates have pointed out to me, was complementing theoretical concepts and practical applications in both software and hardware. The reader will find papers on the mathematical background, on reliability problems in establishments where system failure may be hazardous, on reliability assessment in mechanical systems, and also on life cycle cost models and spares allocation. The proceedings contain the texts of all the lectures delivered and also verbatim accounts of panel discussions on subjects chosen from a wide range of important issues. In this introduction I will give a short account of each contribution, stressing what I feel are the most interesting topics introduced by a lecturer or a panel member. To visualise better the extent and structure. of the Institute, I present a tree-like diagram showing the subjects which my co-directors and I would have wished to include in our deliberations (Figures 1 and 2). The names of our lecturers appear underlined under suitable headings. It can be seen that we have managed to cover most of the issues which seemed important to us. VI SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS _---~-I~--_- Performance Safety Reliability ~intenance ~istic Lethality Hazards Support S.N.R. JARDINE Max. Vel. etc.

Cradle-to-grave analyses are becoming the norm, as an increasing amount of corporations and government agencies are basing their procurement decisions not only on initial costs but also on life cycle costs. And while life cycle costing has been covered in journals and conference proceedings, few, if any, books have gathered this information into an

This book presents cutting-edge applications of, and up-to-date research on, ontology engineering techniques in the physical asset integrity domain. Though a survey of state-of-the-art theory and methods on ontology engineering, the authors emphasize essential topics including data integration modeling, knowledge representation, and semantic interpretation. The book also reflects novel topics dealing with the advanced problems of physical asset integrity applications such as heterogeneity, data inconsistency, and interoperability existing in design and utilization. With a distinctive focus on applications relevant in heavy industry, Ontology Modeling in Physical Asset Integrity Management is ideal for practicing industrial and mechanical engineers working in the field, as well as researchers and graduate concerned with ontology engineering in physical systems life cycles.

1.1 Scope This paper deals with the following subjects: 1. Introduction 2. Feasibility study definition in IT 3. Forming a feasibility study team 4. The feasibility study work 5. The feasibility study report 6. Discussion 1.2 Information Technology (IT) Information was defined as anything sensed by at least one of the human senses and that may change the level of his knowledge. The information may be true or false, sent by premeditation or generated by coincidence, needed by the interceptor or intended to create new needs. The creation of the information may be very costly or free of charge. The information may be an essential need or just a luxury. Each information may be a one shot nature, eg., announcing a marriage, or a constant update need one, eg., news. Information technology as defined herein means all the types of systems needed to deal wi.th the information, transfer it to any place, store it, adapt it, etc. Information technology is usually bused on Telecommunications. Telecommunications means a large variety of possibilities. Usually, the IT's are based on the creation, updating, processing and transmission of information. The information itself is usually alphanumeric and graphic. Gradually, there is a tendency to step over to what is seen as more natural information, audio and visual.

"The Encyclopedia of Microcomputers serves as the ideal companion reference to the popular Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology. Now in its 10th year of publication, this timely reference work details the broad spectrum of microcomputer technology, including microcomputer history; explains and illustrates the use of microcomputers throughout academe, business, government, and society in general; and assesses the future impact of this rapidly changing technology."

Software Reliability reviews some fundamental issues of software reliability as well as the techniques, models, and metrics used to predict the reliability of software. Topics covered include fault avoidance, fault removal, and fault tolerance, along with statistical methods for the objective assessment of predictive accuracy. Development cost models and life-cycle cost models are also discussed. This book is divided into eight sections and begins with a chapter on adaptive modeling used to predict software reliability, followed by a discussion on failure rate in software reliability growth models. The next chapter deals with methods for predicting and estimating software reliability, with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses. The reader is methodically introduced to formal inspection in software development; the effects of product design, program structure, development methods, and the environments of product testing and use on product reliability; and types of software metrics in relation to reliability. The remaining chapters explore the ways in which software engineers have sought to achieve software reliability through testing; problems and standards in software reliability data collection; and applications of time series models to software reliability analysis. This monograph will be of interest to software engineers and designers.